Employers: Are you strategically choosing your types of interviews?

In order to make the most effective use of your time in the interview and hiring process, it’s important to not only consider the type of interview questions you’re asking but also the type of interview itself. Different types of interviews are able to emphasize different aspects of a job candidate’s personality and offer different information about their strengths. As an example, think about the ultimate purposes of these various less traditional types of interviews:

Telephone Interview: If you need to have a very brief conversation with a job candidate solely to verify that they are able to meet the basic qualifications required for the job, then this is a great choice for you. There’s no need to bring the candidate in when you can get this type of verification over the phone. Meet with them in person once you’re ready to ask them the tough questions!

The “Lunch Date” Interview: If impeccable social skills are required for the position, then this may be a good option for you. Many sales positions, for example, would benefit from this interviewing style. Based on what you see, could you imagine this person taking your clients out to business lunches?

Behavioral-Based Interview: During this type of interview, the employer asks job candidates to recall examples about how they’ve overcome challenges and handled specific situations in the past. This type of interview is able to offer insight that goes beyond the job candidate’s qualifications. For example, if you’re interested in knowing how the job candidate handles stress, deals with confrontation, or responds to conflict, there are several behavioral-based questions you can use in your interview.

Video Interview: If you are receiving applications for an open position from out-of-state candidates, a video interview can be used to save both you and the job candidates time, money, and other resources associated with travel costs. The developers behind Jobma are excited to currently be working on incorporating this option into the Jobma platform. Be on the look out for it in the near future!

If you’re not quite sure where to start in selecting the type of interview that will best suit your needs, then start by reflecting on the type of information that you most need to know about a job candidate. Don’t be afraid to go outside of the box in your interviewing style in order to discover this type of information!